Food

By Susan Kantor—Betty, a 73-year-old Champaign resident, receives a check from Social Security the third Wednesday of every month. She worked all her life, but without one steady job, she does not receive a pension in retirement.

University of Illinois student Anna Yee reports on a summer lunch program that teaches as it feeds.

CHAMPAIGN – There's always a line at the Salt and Light food pantry, where experienced customers know to come early for a good spot in line.

Betty Armstrong of the Champaign County University of Illinois Extension teaches children from the Rantoul Area Project how to make a healthy vegetable pizza.

By Susan Kantor—The Triple Play Program promotes wellness in children through exercise and nutrition education.

CHAMPAIGN – Salt and Light Ministry had to close its doors early on Wednesday because it completely ran out of food.

Salt and Light Ministry Assistant Melany Jackson said the organization's food distribution program, which usually runs from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, shut down at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday.

Jackson said 400 families came in to collect food.

"We went through $1,500 of groceries in 2 1/2 hours," Jackson said. "It is very difficult for us to turn people away who are counting on us for help. It broke our hearts to tell people we didn't have any more food."

Jackson said Salt and Light has been providing food to an average of 420 people, representing 1,500 people, over the last four weeks.

At the end of the Eastern Illinois Foodbank’s 2008 fiscal year, it was serving approximately 33,000 people. By the end of 2009, it was up to 43,000.

The food bank distributes food to 14 counties, including Champaign County. As more people have been using the services available, the places that provide those services need more resources to keep up.

URBANA – Ben Hoerr, executive pastor of The Vineyard Church in Urbana, shuffles through a stack of applications from church members seeking financial help.

“I need help with rent,” one congregant writes. “I’m short $300. Husband lost his unemployment, and his new job has been rained out.”